


Back to Neverland

by Snakey



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Felix is a merman, I mean it's kind of extremely violent but it's not graphic, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Minor Violence, This was meant to be shorter, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 16:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7581094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snakey/pseuds/Snakey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unofficial continuation of Quite a Catch and Pressure Point by z0mbieshake, read those first or this won't make any sense. The boys head back to Neverland and be cute and sad together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back to Neverland

**Author's Note:**

  * For [z0mbieshake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/z0mbieshake/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Pressure Point](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1373614) by [z0mbieshake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/z0mbieshake/pseuds/z0mbieshake). 



> So I obsessed over this idea with one of my friends once (to the point of making her cry.) It was great. Anyway, a few months later I've actually written this. Basically it's if Pressure Point and Quite a Catch were both true and the continuation from there (because there's so many sad links you can make omg.) Thanks to z0mbieshake for saying I can post this, I'm sorry that I'm not as good an author.

“What do you mean you're leaving?" Rumple says, storming into the room and dragging a worried looking Dr Whale behind him. When Rumple lets go, Dr Whale rubs his arm, looking as if he regrets being the one to tell Rumple about Pan's decision. 

 

"Exactly that. We're leaving." Peter says, a strong hold on Felix, in case they try to take him away from him. "Don't worry, our deal stands. I won't be coming back." He continues, assuming that's his son’s issue. It's the only reason he could think of Rumple trying to keep him here. 

 

"He isn't better yet!" Dr Whale says, as if it is a reason to stay and Peter has to resist the urge to punch him in the face. 

 

"No he's not! It's been a month and he's not better! He hasn't even responded yet! You've failed! I'm taking him back to Neverland where I can heal him." Peter yells, burying his head in the neck of his lost boy, tears forming in his eyes but not allowing himself to cry. He did enough of that to begin with. "I need to get him back, and I need to take the other boys too. All I need is a ship and I can sort travel. Get. Me. Killian." He punctuates the last three words strongly, trying his best to sound at least a little bit threatening. He knows that Killian will help him. Pretty much all of them would do anything for Peter now, it appears vulnerability has it's positives, although he hates how they seem to think he's weak now. He was never weak. He will never be weak.   
  


 

  
Peter carries Felix onto the ship with him before the others arrive. He sits them between both sets of stairs, facing the same way Killian is when he steers.  Hook is already there and decides to question Pan before the boys arrive,  "How do you plan to make this fly? Because I haven't got a bean." Peter doesn't reply, but a moment later his shadow crashes into the sail. This should at least get them there, and he can always call it back when the Captain is back in Storybrooke. The lost boys arrive soon afterwards, looking to their leader for his usual hyperactivity, his happiness and way of getting them all to forget everything that's wrong. They don't realise how much worse Peter's torture was, how terrible Felix's was. Peter doesn't notice the way they look to him to lead them after at least three months without him. He doesn't notice they have expectations, and he certainly doesn't act how they expect him to, instead sat next to Felix with an arm draped behind him, holding onto Felix as if he's the only thing that matters. He is the only thing that matters. 

  
  
  


The youngest of the group, about 14 physically, as Peter hadn't brought the youngest boys on the mission, heads over to the two of them quickly, mainly headed towards Felix, to see how the boy he considers an older brother is. Peter's immediate reaction is to grip Felix tighter, try to protect him, but then he remembers that he doesn't need to do that. He can fight now. He removes his arm and stands up in a split second, instantly grabbing the boy and slamming him into the wall him and Felix were sat at. Peter places an arm across his neck, crushing him against the wall. "I swear if any of you come anywhere near him then I'll make what the coordinator did to you look like childs play. Got it?" Peter says, pulling the boy back off the wall and throwing him towards the others. The main group look surprised, Peter is known to have violent outbursts, but they've never really been around to see it. 

  
  
  


The boy gasps for breath and a couple of the others check if he's alright, but Peter ignores it, instead turning to Killian, "We have everyone. We can leave now." 

 

Killian laughs slightly before saying, "You really do love him." 

 

Peter doesn't even try to deny it, instead just resting his head on the small ledge and looking up at Killian, saying "You already know that." 

 

And Killian nods, beginning to ready the boat before looking down to where Pan's face is and replying "Just never thought you'd admit it." 

 

Peter sits back down next to Felix and grins, although it's not visible to Killian, then yells "Stop teasing me and get sailing Captain." The conversation with Killian, someone he knows well and can get along with, but more importantly trust, calms him down a bit, although he still worries. He doesn't really have a plan for Neverland, hopefully the magic alone will heal Felix. Or he'll think of something whilst he's there. He'll just have to try and figure out what will work.   
  


 

  
A couple of months ago Peter would have appreciated Felix being silent, not trembling and crying and screaming in his sleep, but now it just disturbs him. At least when Felix would cry in his sleep he would respond when he was awake. At least Peter could talk to him, comfort him. He knows he screwed up. They shouldn't have run. If they hadn't run then Rumple still would have rescued them and Felix would be fine now. But he's not fine. They're in Neverland and it's raining and he won't even react. He isn't stressed, he isn't screaming, and Peter wishes he was, just because it would show that he's alive. The only way Peter knows he's alive now is the shallow breathing, which was only made slightly better by his attempt to heal Felix with magic. 

  
  
  


That should have worked. Felix should be responding. But he won't. Peter glances at the water, where the mermaids are making a storm. He hates them for it. He always hates them. Ever since Felix told Peter about how badly they treated him. Even before that. But no matter how much he hates it, Felix is one of them. And they might be able to help. With the right motivation. Peter runs through other options in his head. His magic wouldn't work, which means the island magic won't work either. Felix's grotto could work, but it's pretty much purely island magic, so he doubts that too. Treating him without magic didn't work at all. The only option is the mermaids. Peter hates it but it's true. They have magic he doesn't have. Even though they aren't stronger, they're different, and they should be able to help Felix. At this point, Peter is willing to do pretty much anything to get Felix back.   
  


 

  
Killian is distracted by the storm the mermaids are creating, the lost boys are on the other side of the ship, talking and trying their best to absolutely ignore their leader. Him and Felix can get away without anyone noticing until it's too late. They won't find out Felix's secret. Peter grabs Felix in his arms and carries the other boy to the side of the ship, making sure nobody notices. He's not mad. He can use his magic to breathe, and all he needs to do for Felix is take out his feathers. He's sure that he's not mad. The worst that can happen is the mermaids can say no and Peter has to pull Felix back to the surface. That's easy enough. He's gotten used to carrying Felix, and he has magic now to help him too. After taking one last quick glance to ensure no-one has noticed, Peter pushes himself off of the edge, holding onto Felix as he falls. 

  
  
  


The water is cold when they hit it, but Peter barely notices as he rushes to remove the feathers in Felix's hair, safely storing them in his own clothes once he sees Felix's tail grow. He makes sure to protect himself with magic before diving down with Felix, who still doesn't respond at all, just as dead-weight as he was on land. This upsets Peter. Somehow despite knowing otherwise, Peter thought just being in the water would wake Felix up. They reach the mermaids’ home after a long while, Peter getting fairly lost at one point, and then wanting to scream because Felix would know. Despite hating being a merman, he knew every inch of the sea around the island off by heart, which really came in handy sometimes. Peter immediately heads to the leader, ignoring the snide comments and remarks of the other mermaids, which is difficult considering every two seconds one of them says something along the lines of "Why is that freak here?" 

 

Peter nearly freezes at least half of them but forces himself to focus, not wasting any time when he reaches her. "I know you all hate Felix, but if you make him better then I'll stop freezing anyone who comes to the shore." He doesn't plan on a long conversation, instead entirely skipping pleasantries and just giving her details of what he wants and what they get in return. It's the best way to handle mermaids. The leader looks unsure for a second, but knowing what a threat Peter is to them, decides to agree quite quickly.   
  


 

  
Peter doesn't pay much attention to what they do or anything going on around him. He knows the mermaids don't ask what is wrong, so they must have figured it out, because they certainly don't have a universal cure. That comforts him at least a small bit. They know what's wrong so they must be able to fix it. Peter, of course, also knows what's wrong, but more in the way of he knows what issues are caused by it, whereas they seem to know the cause. He ignores their magic, knowing he could never replicate it if he needed to, instead just watching Felix, both top make sure that don't harm him and to see if he gives any reaction. At a couple of points the mermaids leave entirely, only to return a moment later with something new. Eventually though, they actually finish, slowly moving away and calling out one last chant, looking at Felix expectantly. 

  
  
  


Peter nearly smiles when he sees a twitch in Felix's hand, but has to stop himself when the other boy starts coughing and heaving. The mermaids don't even look concerned, they clearly took make him better in the most minimal way possible. They just seem to find it amusing, Felix spluttering and choking as he feels himself drowning. Peter has to force himself not to attack them all, instead grabbing onto Felix and working to pull the other up to the surface. He tries to avoid thinking about the boy writhing beneath him, instead focusing on pulling him to the top and cursing the mermaids.  They really did do the least they could. Felix seems to still have all of his memories and Peter can't decide how he feels about it. He wanted Felix to be happy, to not suffer anymore, if they'd cleared his memories then that would have happened. He wouldn't have reacted like this. But if they'd cleared his memories then he would have been different. Peter would have been alone. The boys don't understand. He needs Felix. Now more than ever. He needs him to remember.   
  


 

  
They reach the surface and Felix doesn't stop. Peter has to pull him to the beach, just above the tideline before he quickly removes the hair from Felix's face and replaces the feathers he's been keeping in his shirt. Once Felix's legs are back Peter pulls him further upshore so that the tide can't reach them at all. Luckily the storm is limited to the sea away from the island and despite the fact it feels like he was down there for hours, he can still spot the Jolly Roger in the middle of the storm. He lies next to Felix on the beach, wrapping the taller boy’s arm around him as he buries his head in his shoulder and grips his shirt tightly. Whilst Felix regains his breath Peter quickly pulls his shadow off the sail, doing a loop of the ship before sending it flying straight back into it. Now they'll know he's fine and he won't have to worry about them bothering him. He can be alone with Felix.   
  


 

  
"Felix." Peter mumbles into Felix's neck, listening to the boys breathing even out as he realises he's not under water. "Felix. Please." He repeats, shaking slightly and nearly crying. "Felix. Felix. We're in Neverland, Felix. We're safe. Felix. He can't get to us anymore. Felix. Answer me. You're awake. Please. Felix." His voice gets more desperate as he continues rambling, sobbing by the time he finishes talking. Reasonably he knows Felix should be fine now, he's responding again, even if he isn't talking, but he's still worried. He needs an answer. He needs Felix to talk to him. He needs Felix. "Please Felix." He sighs in relief when he feels a squeeze on his shoulder. 

 

"Peter." Felix says lightly and Peter cries louder, in happiness now rather than sadness.  

 

"Felix." Peter replies, looking properly at the taller boy, who has life in his eyes again for the first time in ages. Felix starts crying too, hugging Peter as they both lay there together, finally safe.    
  


 

  
Peter doesn't know when they fell asleep, but when he wakes up it's already dark. Felix has a ridiculously strong grip on him and is crying again. "Bad dream?" Peter asks, moving a hand to run through Felix's hair gently. Felix nods and pulls the smaller boy closer. "It's okay. We're okay. He's dead." Peter says reassuringly.

 

"Really?" 

 

Peter smiles. "Yeah. Got shot when we were rescued. I'll tell you all about it in the morning." They both pull each other closer before closing their eyes and falling asleep again. They're woken in the morning not by Felix's nightmare this time, although the tears in his eyes show he clearly did have one, but by one of the lost boys yelling to them from about twenty metres away, clearly taking Peter's warning about staying away from Felix seriously. Felix looks up first, quickly spotting the person and looking at them, not talking because he doesn't need to talk to the boys. They don't expect it. 

 

"We were just wondering if you two were going to come back soon?" The boy asks, and Peter shakes his head, barely noticeably, before pulling the two of them through the island to Felix's grotto. The boys can't reach them there, can't bother them. Peter presses a small kiss to Felix's cheek as the taller boy glances around, taking in where they are. His grotto, surrounded by everything he's ever taken from Peter.   
  


 

  
Peter tells him the story of the rescue, or at least as much as he needs to know. He doesn't mention how guilty the coordinator made him feel, or the fact he nearly gave up Neverland. Felix doesn't need to know that. He would feel bad about it and that's not right. It's Peter's fault. Everything that happened there was Peter's fault. From the waterboarding where Felix couldn't take his feathers out to the escape where Peter caused Felix to get his ankles cut and go into that state of emptiness in the first place. Peter blames himself because he deserves it, and he isn't going to let Felix feel at all bad about it. Once he's told the story of the rescue they discuss smaller things, such as when Felix got each object in his collection. Peter hadn't even noticed them disappear at the time, but looking at them all in detail there were so many things. 

  
  
  


"I can't believe I never realised you were the boy who made the pan flute." Peter says after a few hours, once they've looked through everything. "I always figured you couldn't be him, that he had to be from the other land, but it's so obvious now." Felix nods at this statement, confirming Peter isn't mad. "I always thought he knew I was real because he needed Neverland to be real, he needed something better. I never realised you knew it was real because you were already here." Peter sighs, how had he missed something so obvious? "And you never imagined yourself healthy. I always found that odd. Boys always imagined themselves the way they wanted to be. And you did too. You imagined yourself exactly how you wanted to be. Up on land, with legs." Peter presses a kiss to Felix's lips after this statement, thinking about how beautiful his lost boy is. How wonderfully loyal he is. 

 

"Hey Peter are you a girl?" Felix asks and Peter laughs. 

 

"Only I get to ask that. You're the one I thought was lying to me. And anyway, I didn't say I love you." Peter says, still laughing as he talks, and Felix laughs too. It's the most brilliant thing Peter's heard in forever. Felix's laugh, Felix happy and with him and they're together. "But I do." Peter adds on quietly before kissing the other again. They fall asleep in each other's arms again, not caring about the hard floor of the cave.   
  


 

  
Felix wakes Peter with his yelling as he sleeps, and Peter shakes him, waking him up quickly. "Felix it's fine. You're safe." Peter says hugging him. He needs to help Felix but he doesn't know how. He doesn't know what to do. Felix can't have nightmares forever. Peter can't let him. He has to be okay. He has to be happy. "Felix what was it?" He asks, only for Felix to shake his head. "You can tell me. It's fine." 

 

Felix shakes his head again, "No. It doesn't matter. It's not real." 

 

Peter frowns. "It does matter. You're having nightmares every night and you're telling me it doesn't matter? Of course it matters." There is a short pause before Peter says "Tell me Felix." The taller boy sighs, knowing Peter won't give up. 

 

"The highest tide." Peter looks at him, confused. They've had hundreds of high tides together. He isn't sure what he means. "The first one. The first time." Felix pauses, only continuing when Peter looks at him, clearly still not understanding. "You scared me so much. And then you got the cloth with the foam. And, and you took it off. Clearly. You took it off. Of course you did. But in my dream you didn't. You just kept it there. And I couldn't breathe. And it was you there, deliberately hurting me." Felix stops when he starts crying, although he was speaking in a fast, panicked tone the entire time anyway. 

 

Peter just hugs him harder. "I wouldn't do that. Felix. You know I wouldn't do that." Felix nods at him. He doesn't know how to help. Of course it's his fault Felix is having nightmares. He was awful to Felix to begin with. He needs to help Felix get used to water again. He has to. It's the only thing that makes sense to him. If Felix feels safe in water then he won't have nightmares, or maybe he will have nightmares but they’ll be less frequent, at least. Peter doesn’t know, but it’s his only idea. 

  
  
  


"Felix I'm going to take out your feathers okay. Don't panic." He grips one of Felix's hands tightly whilst removing the feathers. "You're doing great. We're going to move over to the water now." Peter tries his best not to treat Felix like a child whilst he does everything, but can’t help but be careful around him, not wanting to hurt him. Felix seems unhappy about it, but goes with Peter towards the water pool. He trusts Peter. Peter hangs his own feet into the water, lazily gesturing for Felix to copy him, and Felix panics for a second, because he can't. He knows he can't, not because he's scared now, but because he'll overreact once he's wet. When he looks over to Peter he looks in his eyes and knows he'll be safe, Peter won't let him feel like that again. He grips onto Peter's hand as he throws his tail into the water, grinning as he notices that he doesn't panic at all. 

 

"I'm okay Peter." He says happily, before Peter slides fully into the water, so that he's standing now, water at his hips. Felix doesn't even hesitate this time, sliding in next to the other boy and hugging him when he feels fine. 

 

"Now we need to go underwater. Remember that you have your tail and you can breathe fine. Being underwater doesn't even cut off your oxygen. You'll be safe." Peter says and Felix nods, hugging him tightly as they both drop underwater. He feels panic at the edge of his mind, but with the help of the magic of Neverland and the comfort of the boy he's holding, he fights it off, managing to continue feeling fine. 

  
  
  


He grins once they're there, and Peter gives a giant grin back. Felix does a flip in the water, perfectly graceful, and Peter couldn't be happier. "Felix?" He asks and Felix nods, "You never did sing for me." 

 

Felix smiles but shakes his head, "I don't like to sing. It's such a mermaid thing to do." Peter conjures a sea urchin and throws it to Felix, enjoying watching the boy tear it open and eat it. They haven't eaten for days, but it doesn't really matter on Neverland, Felix just enjoys the taste. 

 

"Please Felix? I always wanted to hear you sing." Felix smiles again, but this time instead of refusing, he begins to sing in the most beautiful voice Peter has ever heard. Peter doesn't understand the words as it's in whatever language mermaids speak, but he loves the tune and the way Felix's voice sounds and the fact Felix is actually singing for him. 

 

Felix finishes and looks at Peter sheepishly "I told you I could sing." And Peter nods. 

 

"Just decided to prove it a few hundred years late?" They both laugh at that comment and Peter hugs Felix again. "Are you ready to go see the boys?" Peter asks quietly, not really wanting to leave himself.

 

"So long as you don't kill them when they come near me." They both laugh again, Peter sliding along to sit next to Felix in the water and Felix immediately wrapping his arm other the smaller boys shoulder. 

 

"Can we stay here for a few minutes first?" Peter asks and Felix nods, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. 

 

  
  
A few minutes turns into a few hours and they don't talk, don't sleep; just sit there, enjoying each other's company. "We should go." Peter says eventually, and he dives down deeper into the water so that they can swim back to the beach again. Felix dives with him, and pulls him along, showing the way to the beach since Peter would just get them both lost. Once they're just offshore, they surface, and Peter pulls Felix into a hug. 

 

"I'm going to put your feathers back in. Okay? Don't panic, we're safe now." He only says it because he's so worried about Felix, even though he knows if Felix is going to freak out, talking to him probably won't help. He once again removes the feathers from his clothes and adds them to Felix's hair. He knows Neverlands magic is helping a lot to keep Felix okay. When they ran away he didn't have the magic to help him, but now he does and it clearly helps to keep him calm. The two both swim to shore together, Peter drying them as they get out of the water so that they don't get too cold. "Back to camp, then." He says with a smile, and whilst he could just pull them through the island, they walk there together, looking around the place they never thought they'd get back to.   
  


 

  
When they reach the camp Felix is immediately swarmed by the youngest boys. Peter has to remind himself to leave them alone and instead laughs at how much the boys adore Felix, despite the fact he's never been particularly nice to them. The other boys swarm Peter just as quickly, with a few just saying it's great to be back and a couple making comments about how much fun him and Felix must have had being completely alone for a few days. Peter laughs at them too, how mistaken they are, before his attention is drawn to the boys talking to Felix, "Your fingers are missing." Felix nods, looking proud of himself and Peter isn't surprised. It's just like Felix to wear his injuries as proof of his strength. Peter knows that though. That's why he left the damage. He knows Felix would hate him for fixing it, so he left it, even though he hates leaving his lost boy injured. 

  
  
  


Peter decides the reunion is over at that point. It's time to get the boys back on their feet, fighting again. He doubts they've practised at all in the months he's been gone, and he knows the boys that went with him haven't. He pulls an apple from the air and throws it up, drawing the attention of all the boys in the area. "Come on boys!" He calls out excitedly, "Target practice!" Felix walks over to him instantly, using his good hand to grab the apple as Peter tosses it carelessly. Peter nearly complains, nearly says he can't let it happen, but he knows he can't shelter Felix, and the cocky look on the other boys face reminds him of why he always let him do it to start with. Felix isn't scared, he doesn't fear anything. He likes doing things like this, staring death in the eye. That's why Peter first liked him, and it's nice to know it hasn't changed after everything that’s happened. Felix walks over to stand by a tree and places the apple perfectly on his head, staring at the first boy who gets ready to take a shot. Peter doesn't have a clue who it is, but Felix does, he knows all the boys. He doesn't actually say anything, but he knows Devin's a good shot. Nothing to worry about here. Unsurprisingly he's right, Devin hits the apple clean off his head and Peter has to conjure another, tossing it to Felix. This time a younger boy is shooting, and Felix is a bit more careful. He watches the boy pull the bow back, knowing the arrow is going to hit him. Whilst he could let it, as Peter would happily heal him, he instead chooses to catch it. Unlike Peter, he doesn't need magic to help him, he just relies on his own reflexes. The boy has another shot, which he misses just as badly, before the next boy shoots. The group continue like that, cheering whenever anyone shoots, or when Felix catches the arrow, or even more when they actually  _ hit _ the apple. They only stop when it becomes night, and that's only because Peter pulls out his pipes, lighting the already prepared fire just by thinking about it.   
  


 

  
The boys dance for hours, Peter only stopping when he realises they're starting to look tired. They leave to sleep at that point, and Felix walks up to Peter, standing next to him as he watches the boys walk away. "Peter," Felix whispers, and Peter feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist. "close your eyes and trust me, okay? Don't cheat." Peter is confused but does as Felix asks, assuming the boy has some reason for his requests. They walk for a while, and as Felix asked, he doesn't cheat to figure out where they are. He has no clue what's going through the other boy’s mind, or what could he could possibly need his eyes closed for, but does notice when Felix lets go of him. He hears Felix take a few steps back before he feels something wrap around his waist, pulling him flying backwards before he even knows what's happening.

  
  
  


His eyes fly open and he immediately knows where he is. The thinking tree. It's grabbed him, but not Felix. It makes sense, Felix would only ever regret it he thought he failed Peter, and Peter clearly failed Felix in this situation. Peter feels practically choked by the tree, and whilst he could just use magic to pull himself away, he stays, pulling uselessly against the tree for a second before he realises how strong it really is. This was clearly Felix's plan, he just has no clue why. The taller boy steps towards him before pressing a soft kiss to his neck. "What do you regret Peter? We're safe now. Everything turned out well. There's nothing to regret." He presses another kiss to the shorter boys neck before moving to his cheek, where Peter clearly tries to turn, but fails due to his constraints. At Peter's refusal to answer, Felix continues his teasing, kissing Peter's neck again, sucking and pulling on the skin, leaving a dark red mark. Peter moans quietly and Felix pulls away again, his goal is getting Peter to talk to him, not having sex. "Peter Pan never fails." He says insistently, trying to convince Peter to talk. "Peter Pan has no regrets." He continues, before giving up on that and instead attempting to hug the other boy in the most awkward way possible. 

  
  
  


"Please Peter. What's wrong?" Felix asks again and Peter sighs, not wanting to admit it. Felix would disagree. He knows he failed Felix, but Felix would lie to him, tell him he didn't. Tell him it's all okay even though it's not, because Felix has nightmares and he can't stop them, and it's his fault, because he made it too difficult for Felix to regrow his tail. Felix wouldn't have drowned if he made it easier for him. Felix shouldn't have drowned! He let his merman drown! Peter tugs at his restraints again before giving up. "You drowned." Peter mutters, only for Felix to instantly ask him to repeat himself, "You drowned!" Peter repeats, louder this time, and Felix shakes his head before talking. 

 

"There was nothing y-" he starts, before he's interrupted by a frustrated and upset sounding Peter. 

 

"Of course I could have done something! I could have made it easier for you to regrow your tail! I could have-" it's Felix's turn to interrupt this time, and whilst he isn't quite as frustrated as Peter, there's still emotion in his voice far stronger than what he normally uses. 

 

"Do you really think I would have revealed myself to him? Even if I had the choice I wouldn't have done it. It would have just made him treat us worse, convinced him beyond all doubt that I was important. Peter. You can't blame yourself for what happened." Felix's voice gets softer as he finishes his rant and Peter looks entirely unconvinced. 

 

The trees hold on him shows no sign of releasing and after another weak attempt at pulling away from his own trap, Peter sighs and asks, practically crying at this point, "Can we go to the treehouse now?" He could just say they're leaving, there's nothing Felix could really do about it, but he feels the need to ask anyway, to check that Felix had nothing else he wanted to mention. Felix nods disappointedly, he had clearly been hoping the tree would release Peter, but Peter couldn't forgive himself that easily. 

 

  
  
Peter pulls them both through the island to the treehouse, instantly collapsing onto his bed and pulling Felix down with him. Once he's in the safety of the treehouse he can't help but cry, apologising over and over again despite the fact that Felix insists he doesn't need to, insists it's completely fine. He knows it isn't, even if the other says it is. They stop talking about it quite quickly though, and Felix holds Peter as he calms down. "Why did you take me there?" Peter asks, barely crying now. 

 

"Because I needed to know what was bothering you." Felix replies, running his fingers through the smaller boy’s hair. 

 

"And you couldn't have just asked me?" Peter asks, a small smile on his face. 

 

"I barely got an answer out of you when you were being trapped by your own tree. I doubt just asking would have worked." Felix points out, and Peter can't help but laugh because it’s a fair point.

 

"No it wouldn't have." Peter says with a grin before pressing a quick kiss to the other boys lips.

 

-

  
"Felix!" Peter calls out at some unearthly hour of the morning to catch the other boys attention. When the taller boy sits up Peter tosses a weapon at him, smirking as the other boy catches it easily, despite being barely awake. Peter watches as Felix ignores the weapon for a moment, still waking up, and has to avoid laughing when he sees the boy actually look at what he's given him. 

 

"Peter." Felix says in a mildly confused voice. "Why have you woken me up by throwing a trident at me?" A huge grin forms on Peter's face as he pulls himself a matching trident from the air. 

 

"Well I figured swords wouldn't work too well in water." Felix quirks an eyebrow and Peter explains himself, "I'm done with the mermaids, we're off to fight." Peter's grin doesn't falter as he states this, he's clearly excited for the fight, although then again, when isn't he excited for a fight? 

 

"Didn't you tell me that you promised not to fight them?" Felix asks, even more confused. It isn’t like Peter to break a promise. 

 

Peter shakes his head, "Of course not. I wouldn't break my promise. I specifically said that I wouldn't freeze them when they come to the shore! Which isn't the plan!" Peter explains excitedly, tossing his trident in the air with his last sentence, clearly quite proud of himself for the loophole. He stretches his hand out for Felix to take and can't help but feel a mixture of surprise, disappointment and guilt when he only feels three digits wrap around his hand. Felix doesn't seem to notice his reaction though, probably because he pulls them both through the island regardless.   
  


 

  
The two stand on the beach for a minute, watching the sunrise over the sea. Peter hadn't actually considered it, but now that they're here, he's happy that he woke up so early. It's nice to notice things he's never paid attention to before. After a while they walk into the water together, Peter taking the feathers from Felix's hair once they're deep enough for him to swim. The two duck underwater with tridents in hand, and Felix takes the lead in directing them to a stray mermaid. They don't actually plan on killing her now, but if she thinks that she's found out about them without them wanting her to then it will make a much more interesting battle later. "How many mermaids have pearls to hide themselves with, Felix?" He asks, both because he's actually interested and because he wants to declare their presence. 

 

"Should be six, but they won't be with the others, so they'll be easy targets when we find them." If the mermaid nearby wasn't stupid, she would recognise it as a trap, but instead, Peter senses her magical signature going exactly where he wanted it, off to the main home of the mermaids. They'll all gather there, including the ones with pearls, and they'll all be prepared to fight, which is much more fun than  surprising them; adds more challenge. It's not like they can harm him and Felix. They're effectively invincible, but the mermaids won't run from a fight, so instead they'll die. Should be a fun battle though, even if he already knows the result.

  
  
  


As they swim lazily towards the mermaids’ home, Peter can't help but admire Felix. The way he gracefully moves through the water, yet still looks strong and powerful with his grip on the trident. Originally, Peter had considered a bow and arrow, because he's tested those underwater before, but he quickly decided that tridents were better. Now he's glad he made that choice, if only because he's seen Felix with a bow and arrow before, but this is his only opportunity to see Felix with a trident. Felix stops the two of them a fair way away from the base but before Peter can question him he explains, "You're still wearing a shirt." Peter smirks at him before pulling the feathers from his shirt and moving them to a trouser pocket. After that, he swims towards Felix, pressing a harsh kiss to the other boys lips and magically removing his own shirt. 

 

"Better, Felix?" He asks, ghosting his lips over Felix's ear. Felix doesn’t respond, instead pulling away before turning to dive down to the base, calling jokingly over his shoulder as he leaves, “Hurry up, Peter! We've got mermaids to fight first!” Peter has to rush to catch up, as unsurprisingly, Felix is a much faster swimmer than him. He manages to catch up to the boy just before reaching where the mermaids should be. Where the mermaids definitely  _ are _ according to their magical signature, which is so dense here that Peter can't actually tell where they are within the area. He actually looks over the area this time, since he's not in a rush as he was before. The base isn’t much more than a large cave under the island, but whilst it's plain and uninteresting on the outside, Peter remembers the inside being well decorated. Mainly seashells and similar things, but they’re mermaids, what else would there be?

  
  
  


The two enter the mermaids’ base side by side, only to be instantly ambushed from both sides, two mermaids each. Despite being pretty surprised by it, they deal with it well. Both stab one of their attackers with a trident, and both deal with the second differently, Felix gripping her neck and digging his talons into it and Peter freezing her before shattering her with the trident too. “Four out of…” Peter pauses, not actually sure how many they’re expecting to fight, although he’s fairly confident there’s at least ten in the room they’re currently in.

 

“Thirty two. But who’s counting?” Felix replies, a joking tone in his voice. “Make that five.” He comments before spinning around and stabbing a mermaid who’d thought she could sneak up on him. He grins at Peter. Doing this is different, and that makes it fun. Normally in battles there are the other boys too, and whilst they enjoy a fight, they are nowhere near as bloodthirsty as Felix and Peter. In fact, Felix can name at least three of them that hate the sight of blood. He still remembers how he used to hear stories of how Peter killed all of the dryads, and he used to believe that made him a monster. The mermaids had practically brainwashed him into believing Peter was bad, but now he’s here with Peter, happily joining in with the mass slaughter of them. His view has definitely changed since then but he knows he’s right now. The mermaids were always the evil ones. Not Peter.

  
  
  


The two both move towards the large mass of mermaids together, both grinning, not a hint of fear on their faces. Whilst the mermaids appear to consider backing away, they quickly change their mind, circling around the pair. Seven. More of a challenge than four, definitely, but barely an issue. Peter lunges first, catching one with no problem at all. “Six!” he calls out, only to see Felix with one mermaid on the end of his trident and another with his talons in her neck.

 

“Eight!” Felix replies with a challenging tone in his voice. “Five are mine!” he continues. Definitely a challenge. They’re probably the only two people in the world who could turn murder into a game, but the way they do it is so natural that it doesn’t seem like there’s any other way they could fight. Blank faced and angry doesn’t even seem like an option for the two boys currently grinning as if they’re having the time of their lives. The mermaids go on the attack again, talons out to try and scratch at their enemies. This time only one goes to Felix and three to Peter. They’ve clearly decided Peter is the bigger threat, although there’s no chance he’ll have an issue with them. Again, both boys stab a mermaid each, but this time Felix looks over at Peter, noticing his trident is stuck in the first mermaid. Whilst the smaller boy struggles, Felix sneaks up behind one of the two mermaids, stabbing her neck when he reaches her. The second is distracted enough by this for him to stab her in the back. 

 

“Twelve!” Peter calls out as he rips a pearl from around the mermaids neck and pulls a ring off her finger, storing them both in his pocket alongside the feathers.The next room has about the same amount of mermaids and the two get through easily, grinning and yelling numbers and laughing as they do it. Peter occasionally gets confused when the mermaids attack from above, not used to fighting in water, but still manages to kill one more than Felix, leaving the other boy only three ahead. Once all of them are dead, Peter yells out “Twenty-seven!” and Felix stops him before he can go into the next room.

 

“You can have the three guards. I want Syrena and Narissa.” Felix says and Peter just nods. He should probably feel bad about the fact that he knows who Felix means, and actually knows more of the mermaids than he does the lost boys, but he doesn’t care at all. It’s much more important to know the names of your enemies. Peter can’t sense anyone in the room, but that’s probably because the five in there have the five remaining pearls. It would make sense, they are pretty much the most important mermaids. 

  
  
  


On walking into the room it’s clear to Felix and Peter that these mermaids are much more prepared. They aren’t as happy as the boys, no wide grins on their faces, but they do look confident. They certainly aren’t anywhere near as worried as the previous mermaids were. Syrena and Narissa are staring down at them from what is practically a throne and the three guards are in front of them, holding tridents that are much more intricate than the ones Peter made. He never has been able to manage detail with his magic. Narissa, the first in command, looks at them with a gentle smile and says in a disapproving, motherly tone, “Peter, I thought you'd promised not to do this.” The pair of boys laugh, does she really think she can talk them down? They're at twenty-seven, does she honestly think they'll quit at the last five? 

 

“Twenty-eight!” Peter declares, and the five mermaids look to one another, confirming they are still all there. Whilst they're confused, Peter pulls himself through the island so that he's just behind the guard on the left, quickly planting his trident in her back. Whilst he does this, Felix catches the guard on the right by surprise, grinning when he looks at the horrified looks on the mermaids faces. Mermaids may be violent and manipulative but they are also gullible and useless in a fight.

 

“Twenty-nine! Thought you were leaving the guards to me Felix?” Peter calls out, grin not faltering for a second. He turns the remaining guard into stone, not wanting to deal with her properly and instead smashes the stone with his trident. The two leaders split at that point, Narissa headed to Peter and Syrena to Felix. Peter grabs Narissa easily enough, not killing her, that's Felix's job, just keeping his arm round her neck and his trident at the small of her back. His smile drops for a second when he turns to see Syrena holding Felix in a similar position, his trident on the floor, her floating by his side, talons rested on his adam's apple, but it instantly reappears when he sees the smirk on Felix's face. The other boy has a plan, even if he doesn't know what it is. 

 

“Go on Syrena.” He says with a grin that suggests it would be a terrible idea, “I dare you.” The girl taps on Felix's neck gently before flinching away as if she's been attacked. It takes Peter a moment to notice the way Felix's talons are dug into her side, and by that point Felix has already used the surprise to spin round in front of her, leaving one hand in her side and using his talons on the second to stab her in the eyes. After she writhes for a moment he moves his first hand from her side to her neck, killing her easily. Peter can't help but smile as he watches the display, glad to see Felix getting his revenge in a personal way, killing her differently to the others. 

 

“Thirty-one!” Peter declares cheerily, “Guess you're the last one left.” He continues as he pushes Narissa towards Felix with the tip of his trident. Narissa shakes her head, seeming to have given up on fighting and now just hoping Felix won't make her suffer too long. The taller of the two boys swims up to her and looks her in the eyes, stares at the woman who was very nearly singlehandedly responsible for his suffering when he was younger. She was the one who always remembered to point out that Felix was different, made everyone hate him. And since age was, and still is, the most important mermaid, everyone agreed with her, all but exiling him. Felix places his hand just below her armpit, wrapping his fingers round her back so that his talons are aligned with where he imagines her heart is. He watches the panicked look in her eyes with a smile on his face, and stares her in the eyes, seeing the life drain from them as he slowly extends his talons, puncturing her heart.

  
  
  


Once Felix is confident she's dead, he retracts his talons, dropping her onto the floor. For a moment, the two boys both laugh at the destruction around them. “I beat you.” Felix says with a smirk as he swims towards the smaller boy. “Eighteen to fourteen!” He pulls a trident from the body of one of the guards as he goes past her. It's hers, so he tests how it moves in the water for a second. It's much smoother and easier to use than the ones Peter made, But he expected that anyway. After all, it was probably handmade, not just created by magic. 

 

“I  _ let _ you win!” Peter counters, swimming forward to grab the trident from the guard near him. He also tests the movement with it, although it’s not like he’ll ever need to battle in water again.

 

“Really?” Felix asks, clearly unconvinced. He squares off to the smaller boy, pointing his trident towards him. “Prove it.” 

 

“I will.” Peter says, a playful grin on his face as he turns to fight Felix. 

 

“No magic.” 

 

Peter fakes a frown, but his smile instantly reappears. “Of course not.”

 

“Good.” Felix says before lunging forward. Peter jumps back easily before stabbing back at Felix. The taller boy swims up to avoid the weapon and then looks down at the smaller who is, yet again, perplexed by the use of three dimensions in a fight. Whilst Peter is disorientated, Felix aims his trident at the smaller boys head, only for Peter to block the attack with his own trident, trapping it between the prongs of Felix’s. He uses this opportunity to push at Felix’s trident, managing to rip it from Felix’s grip and send it across the room. He then swims up so that he’s in line with Felix again, stabbing at the taller boy when he’s there. Felix grabs the trident as it comes towards him, pulling it to bring Peter closer and placing a hand on the others hips before throwing the trident away. He kisses Peter violently, talons digging into his sides and a grin on both their faces as they celebrate their victory.


End file.
